In 2012, 809 million people, or 11% of the world's population, were over 60. By 2050, about 2 billion people are expected to be over 60, which represents 22% of the world's population.

Pew Research Center has pointed out that this is "uncharted territory" for humanity and that the aging population is likely to create political and economic stress as a smaller number of working adults will be expected to finance retirements for larger numbers of older people.